Technical Report: Plant and invertebrate remains from … Samples from four richly organic deposits with excellent preservation by anoxic waterlogging of plant and invertebrate remains

Reports from the Environmental Archaeology Unit, York 2000/22, 33pp.

Technical Report: Plant and invertebrate remains from

Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at 4-7 Parliament Street (Littlewoods Store), York (site code 99.946)

by Allan Hall and H arry Kenwa rd

Summary

Samples from four richly organic deposits with excellent preservation by anoxic waterlogging of plant

and invertebrate remains have been examined. They gave large assemblages of fo ssils amongst which

were groups characteristic of dyebath and food waste, the latter perhaps la rgely in a fae cal comp onent.

The source of the dung is not unambiguous and it seems possible that some, at least, may have originated

from pigs. There were a lso well preserv ed specim ens of hone ybees, likely to indicate beekeeping nearby,

or the processing or consumption of honey and wax.

Keywords: YORK; 4-7 PARLIAMENT STREET (LITTLEWOODS STORE); ANGLO-SCANDINAVIAN ;

OCCUPATION DEPOSITS; PLANT REMAINS; INVERTEBRATE REMAINS; PARASITE EGGS; INSECTS; PIT FILLS;

DYEPLANTS; FOODPLANTS ; FAECES

1 June 2000

Environme ntal Archae ology Unit Prepared for: York Archaeological Trust

Depa rtment o f Biology Cromwell House

University of York 13 Oglefor th

PO Box 373 York YO1 7FG

Heslington

York YO10 5YW

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List of Tables and Figures

Table 1. List of samples from 4-7 Parliament Street, York, examined for plant and invertebrate remains.

Table 2. Complete list of plant and invertebrate remains recorded from samples from 4-7 Parliament

Street, York, in taxonom ic order.

Table 3. Lists of plant remains and other components of the samples from 4-7 Parliament Street, York,

in context, sample an d subsample o rder.

Table 4. Values for the ‘abundance-indicator value’ (AIV) for assemb lages of plant remain s from 4-7

Parliament Street, York, in context order.

Table 5. Explanation of the codes used for AIV groups in Table 4.

Table 6. Main statistics for the assemblages of adult Coleoptera and Hemiptera (excluding Aphidoidea

and Coccoid ea) from 4-7 Parliam ent Street, York.

Table 7. Insects and other macro-in vertebrate s from 4-7 Pa rliament S treet, York: sp ecies lists by co ntext.

Table 8. Assemblages of adult Coleoptera and Hemiptera (excluding Aphidoidea and Coccoidea) from

4-7 Parliament Street, York: numbers of taxa (s) and individuals (n) placed in core Groups A-E of

Carrott and Kenward (2000), by sample and for whole site.

Table 9. Abbreviations for ecological codes and statistics used for interpretation of insect remains in text

and tables.

Table 10. Ratios of Trichuris and Ascaris eggs from subsamples from Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at

16-22 Coppergate, York (where both taxa were present with more than five eggs) and 4-7 Parliament

Street.

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Technical Report: Plant and invertebrate remains from

Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at 4-7 Parliament Street

(Littlewoods Store), York (site code 99.946)

Introduction

Richly organic deposits dated to the An glo-Scandinavian period were revealed during construction of a

lift-shaft for Messrs Littlewoods in their York City Centre store in Parliament Street in September 1999

(NGR SE 60395 517 80). The circumstan ces of the building works preclud ed adequate archaeological

investigation: salvage works were undertaken by York Arc haeologica l Trust in the p eriod 8th-1 0th

September which invo lved recordin g sections from three of the fo ur walls of th e shaft pit. A tota l of 20

samples for biological analysis was recovered during archaeological recording. Samples were taken from

each of the three a ccessible w alls, where the depth of deposits was just in exce ss of 0.8 m (Johnson 199 9).

To provide data relevant to a synthesis of Anglo-Scandinavian York, an opportunity was taken to examine

the plant and invertebrate remains from four samples from this site an d it is that material w ith which th is

report is concerned. It is important to bear in mind the followin g caution offered by Joh nson (1999, 4):

It has not proved possible to identify the exact nature of deposition of many of the contexts encountered.

This is largely a result of their having been seen exclusively in section. Even those features that were

identified such as the wattle fencing/walls have que stions outsta nding, pa rticularly in terms of alignment

and prec ise function . ... It is probable that refined interpretations can be made for many of the deposits,

but this will be dependent upon the results of the examination of the environmental samples.

Methods

Following a laboratory description of lithology, subsamples of 2 kg were processed according to the

methods of Kenward et al. 1980; 1986), the residues being stored wet prior to examination. Plant remains

(and other components of the residues) were record ed using direct input to a PC (us ing an input form and

Paradox software) . In this instance, the ‘flots’ from par affin flotation were not e xamined s ince it seemed

unlikely they would add much information, given the large and extremely richly organic residues.

Abundance was recorded using a four-point scale from 1 (one or a few individ uals or fragme nts or a small

component of the matrix) to 4 (abundant remains or a major component of the matrix). For investigation

of the composition of the plant assemblages, ‘abundance-indicator values’ (AIVs) were calculated which

combine the measure of abundance with a score for the degree to which a taxon may represent one or

more of a series of ecological and ‘use’ groups (Tables 4-5).

Insects were identified by comparison with modern reference material and using the standard works. Adu lt

beetles and bugs, other than aphids and scale insects, were recorded fully quantitatively for two of the

samples, and a minimum number of individuals estimated on the basis of the fragments present. The

remaining two samples were ‘rapid scan’ recorded (Kenward 1992) because part of the flot had been

accidentally lost during examination as part of an undergradu ate project. O ther invertebra te macrofos sils

were recorded semi-quantitatively for all samples, using the scale described by Kenward et al. (1986) and

Kenward (1992), using estimates for extremely abundant taxa. Re cording of the state of preservation of

invertebrates followed K enward and Large (1 998), making use of the sheet illustrated in their fig. 2.

Any insect remains recovered from the residues during recording of plant remains were included in the

record, although there were hardly ever any taxa additional to those from the flots and, indeed, rarely any

additional individuals.

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Data pertaining to invertebrate remains were transferred from a paper record to computer databases (using

Paradox software) for analysis and long-term storage.

Results

The results of these investigations are presented in approxim ate stratigraphic order base d on the availa ble

sections and Johnson’s (1999) account. Table 1 gives a list of GBA samples from the site with an

indication of those selected for this study. A full list of plant and invertebrate taxa recorded from these

deposits appears in Table 2, w ith lists of plant remains (and other components of the residues) by context

in Table 3. AIVs for plant remains are given in Table 4. Lis ts of insects are presented in Table 7 w ith main

statistics in Table 6.

In the following accounts the words ‘several’ and ‘many’ are used in the semi-quantitative sense of

Kenward et al. (1986), i.e. estimates of more than three and less than ten individuals are recorded as

‘several’ and translated to ‘6’ for statistical purposes, and estimates of ten or more are recorded as ‘many’

and translated as ‘15’, unless the numbers are very large, in which case a rough approximation is used.

Numbers of individuals are ‘MN I’s, calculated from the numbers o f parts (heads, pronota, elytra, etc.)

recorded.

Context 1031: highly organic silty material with numerous lenses of plant material, one of the two earliest

deposits visible in the trench.

Sample 8: moist, mid olive (oxidising black) crumbly (working slightly plastic), woody and herbaceous

detritus and amorpho us organic se diment with traces of oys ter shell.

There was a huge residue, almost wholly organic in nature, with very large < 2 mm fraction s (much of it

wheat/rye ‘bran’) . Some of the clas ts of und isaggregate d herba ceous detritus presen t bore a d istinctive

green, blue-green or purple to iridescent cast and some sloe (Prunus spinosa) stones bore remnants of their

flesh (mesocarp), which had a pinkish colo ur. Other slo e stones w ere straw-c oloured o r black but all were

perfectly hard and totally undec ayed. Fragments of app le endocarp (‘core’) w ere pinkish in colour,

presumab ly having adsorbed anthocyanins from fruits like sloe and blackberry. Fragments of plant

epidermis which seem likely to have come from small fruits were abundant and in so me cases there

seemed to be whole drupelets (individual fruits from the compound fruit heads) of, for example,

blackberry or raspberry. Overall, preservation was described during recording as being as good as the

author had ever see n, the small am ounts of py ritisation in plac es presuma bly indicating a highly reducing

environmen t at deposition and durin g subseque nt burial.

The deposit was clearly mainly faecal material though the presence of abu ndant uncharred cereal chaff

with the bran an d fruit remains, as seen in two cases at the Queen’s Ho tel site, 1-9 Micklegate (Kenw ard

and Hall 2000), might suggest either that this inedible material was dumped separately or that the faeces

were, or included, those of animals (e.g. pigs) . Other pro bable foodplants recorded with the sloes, apple,

and bran included ?leek (as leaf epidermis fragments), oats, hazel nut, linseed, pea, blackberry, ‘bilberry’

and field bean, and there was one plant likely to have been used mainly as a flavouring: celery seed.

Another component of the deposit was dyeplant waste, for there were small amounts of pod an d vegetative

fragments of woad (Isatis tinctoria ), stem fragmen ts of the clubmoss Diphasium complanatum, stem and

twig epidermis fragments of dyer’s greenweed (Genista tin ctoria), and root fragments of madder (Rubia

tinctorum)—a suite encountered in a very large proportion of the Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at nearby

16-22 Coppergate, as well as from deposits of this date at many other in York. The vegetative material

of woad (spiral thickenings from xylem vessels) was mainly attached to moss. Whether this implies some

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connexion in the past (e.g. that the moss was used as filter for a dyeba th liquor), or simply that the moss

acted as a suitable material onto which the thickenings could become entangled during laboratory

proces sing, cannot be elucidated. Patches of plant material thought perhaps to b e woad we re observed in

the sediment prior to process ing, suggesting som e, at least, may have been deposited separately from such

a moss filter (unless it had formed a w ad on top of it during filtration).

In any case, it is very likely that some other plant materials were deposited in this pit, for there were

remains of taxa wh ich might have a rrived in hay o r straw as w ell as from woodland habitats (though these

might largely have been brou ght with mos s for use in the latrine if the fae ces presen t were at leas t partly

from human inhabitants of the area). The remainder of the plant assemblage was composed of weeds of

various kinds, mainly those of cornfields (probably from straw and grain contamina nts from foo d), with

only rather a modest component of annual weeds of nutrient rich habitats.

A microfossil squash showed eggs of parasitic nematodes to be moderately abundant and the ratio of

Trichuris to Ascaris to be about 3:1.

Insect remains were abundant in the flot from Context 1031, and there were also numerous mites. The

material was rapid scan recorded. The assemblage of adult beetles and bugs included 108 individuals of

61 taxa, in a group dominated by species which would have formed a community in foul conditions such

as those suggested by the plant remains. The more abundant taxa were Cercyon a nalis (12 individuals),

Platystethus arenarius (7), Philonthus politus (6), Cercyon unipunctatus, Anotylus complanatus and A.

nitidulus (4 of each); many of the rarer taxa would have co-existed with these. In addition, of the order

of 100 fly puparia w ere noted. It thus appears that foul matter was exposed for long enough for beetle and

fly population s to build up: probably at least several w eeks. No oth er ecological gro ups were clearly

represented, the rather limited house fauna perhaps representing strays or colonisers of local drier areas

in the deposit, although the presence of two sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus) (presumably from wool

cleanin g) and adult and nymphal human lice (Pediculus humanus) may indica te the presence of househ old

waste. There w ere also specimens of Sitona sp. and Hypera punctata , sometimes suspected to have been

imported in hay (cf. the evidenc e from the plant remains).

There were at least five honey bees (Apis mellifera), rather too many to have entered the deposit naturally.

It seems that either a hive was kept locally, o r that bees entered via faeces or food waste, having been

present as contaminants in honey or ho neycomb . The bees were sup erbly prese rved, but it is unc ertain

whether this represen ts an argument against their having past through the ma mmalian gut. A parasitised

‘mummy’ of an aphid wa s recorded ; Hall et al. (1983) suggested that one route by which these immobile

remains might enter faecal deposits would be in ingested ‘greens’. Two crucifer feeders (Phyllotreta

nemorum group and Ceutorhynchus contractus) were noted in the prese nt assemblage, but seem more

likely to be from the local weed flora than to have been eaten.

A few feathers were noted.

Overall this deposit clearly included faecal material which was probably of human origin but a wide ra nge

of other materia ls became in corporate d. One p ossibility is that it represente d accumu lation whe re animals

(and pigs would be by far the most likely) were penned (see Discussion, below). Alternatively, this may

be an unrecognised pit fill, or even particularly vile a midden in a wet back yard.

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Context 1024: dark reddish-brown, somewhat silty organic material, which may have originated from

dumping.

Sample 2: moist, b lack (locally light-mid-da rk brown and d ark grey), layered, fibrous and compressed

(working crumbly) very humic woody and herbaceous detritus with traces of bark, wo od and oy ster shell

and grey clay streaks.

The extremely large residue of about 1600 cm3 was mostly of herbaceous detritus, especially in the <1

mm fraction. Again the bulk of the material appeared to be faecal in origin, with wheat/rye ‘bran’ forming

a very large comp onent and with abun dant oat ‘br an’, linseed , and apple ‘core’. Th e large numb ers of fly

puparia and ?rat-taile d maggot larvae ar e entirely con sistent with this (and see further regarding insects,

below). Other food remains present in moderate amounts included ?leek, hawthorn, sloe, blackberry,

‘bilberry’ and field bean, with traces of some other (wild) fruits: rowan, dewberry, and elderberry. Two

possible flavourings were recorded: ce lery seed and hop (the latter in moderate amounts). T here were

modest quantities of fruit epidermis and w aterlogged cereal chaff, this whole component of the

assemb lage being very similar to that from Context 1034. Preservation was, as in Con text 1031, very

good, with only a little mineralisation and traces of faecal concretions (to 10 mm); ?leek epidermis

material had a yellow-gre en colour a nd a variety o f remains, inc luding sloe sto nes, apple ‘core’ fragmen ts

and even wild radish pod segments were often pinkish.

As for the sample from Context 1031, the dyeplants group here included woad, clubmoss and greenweed

though no madder root w as recorded (further emphasising that the pinkish colouration of remains came

from food remains rather than a dyeplant). And again quantities of mammalian hairs, including bristles,

were no ted during so rting (these may be related to skin or hide preparation though many seemed to be in

short lengths consistent with beard trimmings). (Mammal hair—and also feathers—were abundant in the

flot, too.)

Other material must h ave been de posited in th e pit, for mode rate amoun ts of bark fragmen ts (to 25 mm)

and wood fragments (to 90 mm), including chips (up to 40 mm) were recorded. Some straw and perhaps

also hay is likely to h ave been inc luded, tho ugh plants ind icating these m aterials wer e not very stron gly

represented. Two ex tremely we ll preserved rib wort (Plantago la nceolata ) seeds preserved by

waterlogging are counted with the grassland group; these remains are ex tremely rare in depo sits of this

kind, the usual modes of preservation being charring or, less commonly, mineralisation. Woodland and

hedgerow taxa (other than many of the foodplants) included a range of mosses typically found on tree

boles and other tree bark, perh aps used as toilet tissue (all were reco rded in trace amounts, ho wever).

A microfossil sq uash show ed eggs of para sitic nematod es to be abu ndant and the ratio of Trichuris to

Ascaris to be low (approximately unity). Such a ratio has been said to be indicative of pig, rather than

human , faeces (Taylo r 1955), althou gh this as sertion r equire s objec tive testing.

Macro-invertebrate remains were extremely abundant. Preservation was in many cases quite remarka bly

good, this being especially conspicuous in some larval remains. A few fossils were darkened (notably

Cercyon unipunctatus, whose gro und colou r is yellow). A possible cause is staining by tannins from the

bark observed in the residue.

Of the order of 500 fly puparia w ere estim ated to b e present, belo nging to groups typical of very foul

matter. One component of the beetle assemblage would have co-existed with these, including Cercyon

unipunctatus and Philonthus politus (the most abundant beetles, w ith nine of each), C. haem orrhoida lis

(4), Platystethus arenarius (3), and various of the less abundant taxa. Co ded foul decomp osers accounted

for 18% of the assemblage (a high value), but this figure does not include P. politus.

In contrast to these indicators of foul conditions, there were moderate numbers of some ‘house fauna’ taxa,

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this group (as defined by Carrott and Kenward’s core Group A, Table 8) contributing 30% of the fauna.

There were eight Anobium punctatum, together with Lathridius minutus group (7), Aglenus brunneus (5),

Cryptophagus sp. and Atomar ia sp. (4 each), single individuals of various other beetles, and a human flea

(Pulex irritans). These probably came from a building, but this may have been a house or a stable. The

presence of two Melophagus ovinus (sheep keds ) and of dye plants perh aps argues fo r a domestic o rigin

(the flies having been shed during w ool cleaning).

Aquatics were a little more common than might be expected by chance, especially if this was a surface

dump, and included two water flea resti ng eggs. Th e aquat ics may have originated in water used for some

process (dyeing? skin cleaning?) or h ave been drunk by livestock.

The development of a seething invertebrate population (including the numerous mites as well as the flies

and beetles noted above) indicates a long period of exposure of this material - several weeks at least.

Clearly prolonged exposure of disgusting matter was tolerable in this area, but bacteria (and perhaps

parasite eggs, Kenward and Large 1998) would have been carried from it by insects to infect peop le living

nearby.

Two honey bees were noted.

In summary, this deposit in cluded fou l mixed wa ste, among it pe rhaps deb ris from skin cleaning. If skins

were being cleaned it is possible that slaughtering was being carried out and the foul matter included gut

contents. The abu ndant tiny feathers had the appearance of those left after plucking, so it is possible that

they originated in faeces, having been ingested with cooked (but not roasted since none were charred) bird,

for example.

The possibility tha t this and the o ther two lay ers in this series of samples were in fact fills of a ve ry large

pit is discussed below.

Context 1043: the single fill of Cut 1044, a homogene ous, greenish -tinged, highly organic slightly gritty

silt.

Sample 4: black, crumbly, fibrous, compre ssed (working slightly plastic), slightly sandy, slightly silty fine

and coarse woody and herbaceous detritus with amorphous organic sediment and traces of moss and

‘straw’, and with mo derate numbers of tw ig fragments.

As might be expected in view of the nature of the sediment, there was a extremely large residue (of about

1200 cm3) mainly of herbaceous detritus, especially in the <1 mm fraction. And as with the previous two

samples, the bulk of the identifiable material was wheat/rye ‘bran’, with large amounts also o f oat ‘bran’,

?leek leaf, and uncharred cereal chaff. Food, but with other waste is indicated, the list of edible pla nts

present in moderate amounts in cluding linsee d and app le, and thos e in trace amo unts including ha zel nut,

sloe, bullace, blackberry and ‘bilberry’. The usual suite of ‘toilet’ mosses was present although of the

several taxa recorded at an ab undance of ‘2’ (Campylium elodes, C. stellatum, Neckera compla nata ,

Pseudoscleropodium purum, and Scorpidium scorpioides), all but two are more characteristic of fens and

marshes than woo dland or heathland, th e usual sou rces for such mosses (tho ugh by no m eans the on ly

one). That this was largely faecal material does not seem to be in doubt, though the modest numbers of

fragments of faecal concretion were small (up to 25 mm) and there was little mineralisation of individual

plant remains.

Stem and twig epidermis fragments of dyer’s greenweed were present in modest amounts, as were

vegetative remains of woad (again, xylem vessels tangled amongst the moss, as in the sample from

Context 1031), an d other plan ts recorded in the DY ES group were clubmoss (stem fragments) and bog

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myrtle (traces of leaf fragments). The bog myrtle, together with traces of ‘seeds’ of dill were counted as

the two plants likely to have been used as flavourings. Other taxa present were generally much like those

from the previous samples, w ith various kinds of litter probab ly being repre sented and with a rather small

component of weeds.

A microfossil squash show ed eggs of parasitic nematodes to be a bundant and the ra tio of Trichuris to

Ascaris to be about 2:1.

Preservation of invertebrates in the large flot was generally superb. Adult beetles and bugs were abundant

(N = 177, S = 100), and there were numerous other invertebrates, notably mites (of the o rder of 100),

around 50 fly puparia, and numerous water flea resting eggs (Cladocera ephippia). These remains

appeared to have had va rious origins, an d this is reflected in the high divers ity of the assemblage o f adult

beetles and bugs (alpha = 95, SE = 13). The principal ecological groups observed w ere ‘house fauna’,

species associated w ith foul matter, Bruchus rufimanus (from pulses), and aquatics.

House fauna was represented by Lathridius minutus group (10 individuals) and three Atomar ia species

(8, 4, 3), but on ly one or tw o individuals of various others. The Lathridius and Atomar ia may have

occupied outdoor habitats, however. T hus, althou gh this group (as represente d by Carr ott and Kenw ard’s

core Group A, Table 8) contributed 27% of the assemblage, it is not wholly convincing evidence for the

presence of material from indoors. The presence of two human lice and a human flea may support a

domestic origin, but such remain s are common in faecal d eposits, perhaps being remo ved ‘at toilet’.

Species coded as fo ul decomp osers (rf) con tributed an a ppreciable proportion of the fauna (% NRF = 9),

but there were further taxa associated with foul mouldering matter. T hese sp ecies se em mos t likely to h ave

occurred together in material with the characteristics of stable manure—a fairly open texture but moist and

fermen ting.

Bruchus rufimanus (eight individuals ) seems mos t likely to have arrived in re jected spoile d pulses or via

faeces, having been accidentally eaten. Some of the remains were pale, strongly suggesting such a p assive

mode of entry, since pale (freshly emerged) insects are unlikely to disperse naturally.

There were seven aquatic beetles and bugs (although % NW only = 4), but the presence of water was very

strongly argued by the cladocerans: about 50 of one type, ‘many’ of a second, and one of a third. Bearing

in mind the nature of the deposit—extremely foul—these freshwater crustaceans seem most u nlikely to

have lived in situ in the cut, since the water would have been intolerably polluted. They therefore seem

much more likely to ha ve been dep osited in w aste water (from dyeing, perhaps), or entered via faeces,

having been in adverten tly ingeste d. If the latt er, drinking (or cookin g) water of a ver y poor qu ality is

indicated. Presumably the w ater was obtained from an open pit-like well (some of the pits at 16-22

Coppergate were suspected to be such), or even from one of the rivers.

A very decayed ?honey bee ‘pollen basket’ (hind tarsal segment) may have been damaged by cooking and

eating, but seems as likely to be have entered accidentally (as dust, or in a dump) after decaying on a

surface.

This deposit must have accum ulated slowly, so that foul ma tter was exposed fo r a long period, unless it

included dumps from elsew here containing well-established fauna. The former appears far more probable.

In summary, this deposit appea red to be another accu mulation of foul waste, pro bably largely faeces.

Context 1005: organic layer, part of a series of deposits accumulating after the life of a wooden (wattle)

structure, and probably best interpreted as dumps (Context 1006, at the same level but to one side of 1005

9

in the same section, was rich in leather-working waste and was the only context with stratified pottery:

sherds of 10th-11th c entury glazed Stamford wa re).

Another extremely large residue (of about 1200 cm3) was obtained, of which a very large prop ortion in

the <2 mm fraction, and especially the <1 mm fraction, was whea t/rye ‘bran’. Waterlogged cerea l chaff

was also abun dant, but here, unlike the other three samples, there were large numbers of faecal concretions

(up to 40 mm). Another abundant component was flax seed, and plant foods present in moderate amounts

included leek leaf fragments, oat ‘bran’, apple pips and endocarp, sloe stones, blackberry seeds, ‘bilberry’

and field bean, with traces of hazel nut, pea, bullace, elderberry and rowan. Consistent with the greater

degree of ‘mineralisation’, the sloe stones here only rath er rarely showed a p inkish colour. Three taxa have

been counted as possible flavourings: hop, bog myrtle and summer savory, the last recorded widely from

Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at 16-22 Coppergate, but only in this assemblage from the present site.

The suite of mosses recorded were typical of those repeatedly recorded in faecal deposits, though only one

(Hylocomium splendens) was present in more than trace amounts. This plant may have come from

heathland or moorlan d habitats, an d the traces o f heather flo wers and shoot fragme nts in this

assemblage—the only secure records in these four samples for a plant wh ich was gen erally quite re gularly

recorded in Anglo-Scandinavian deposits at nearby 16-22 Co ppergate (in 44% of the 402 contexts),

though only sparsely at 1-9 Micklegate (in 4 of 20 samples). Hylocomium and heather are also counted

in analyses of the ‘litter’ content of these assemblages as possible ind icators of ‘turf ’ and here th ere is

quite a strongly represented group of plants though none, except this moss, were recorded at an abundance

of more than 1.

Other plant taxa in the residue were largely weeds, mostly those of cornfields and likely to have arrived

with cereal-based food (especially the moderately frequent seed fragments of corncockle (Agrostemma

githago) and achenes of stinking mayweed (Anthem is cotula).

A microfossil squash showe d eggs of parasitic nematodes to be ab undant and the ratio of Trichuris to

Ascaris to be about 3:1.

The subsample from Context 1005 produced the smallest of the assemb lages of beetle s and bugs fro m this

site (N =77, S = 51), although oth er invertebrates were fairly abu ndant (no tably of the o rder of 100 fly

puparia). The deposit was probably foul, on the evidence of the puparia and of small numbers of beetles

such as Platystethus arenarius and Gyrohy pnus fractic ornis (3 of eac h) and n umerous rarer taxa. Although

the two most abundant taxa (Atomar ia sp., with seven individuals, and Lathridius minutus group, with

five) are components of house fauna assemblages, they may equally have lived in fairly dry material

outdoors (other hou se fauna taxa being w eakly represented).

The four Clad ocera eph ippia (of thre e different kind s) perhaps e ntered via waste water or faeces, and the

latter may be the means of entry of two Bruchus ?rufimanus (bean weevils).

This deposit clearly had a considerable content of faecal material, though whether primarily human or

porcine remains unc ertain.

Discussion

These samples have exhibited som e of the best preserved plant and invertebrate remains recorded from

archaeological deposits in York, though it must be remembered that they were processed within three

weeks of excavation when little c hange had occurred (other than a general darke ning of the sed iments

through oxidation). It may be noted, however, that those samples from 16-22 Coppergate which were

processed within a fe w days of collection d id not in general show suc h superb preservation.

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The four samples, though none clearly came from a pit fill of the kind repeatedly observed in Anglo-

Scandinavian levels at, for exa mple, 16-2 2 Copp ergate or 1-9 M icklegate, were all very similar in th eir

content of food remains which it is tempting to see as having arrived in human faeces. However, the

quantities of uncharred cereal chaff (at an abundance of ‘3’ in three assemblages and ‘2’ in the fourth)

might lead one to suppose that, unless this component arrived by another route, the faecal material might

partly, or even wholly, have o riginated in animals such as pigs.

Examination of the eggs of parasitic n ematodes throws som e light on this question. The ratio of Trichuris

to Ascaris eggs has been s aid to have a role in differentiating faeces of pigs and hum ans, Ascaris being

relatively more common in the fo rmer (Taylor 1955), a lthough this asse rtion req uires ob jective testing. The

overall ratio for Anglo-Scandinavian 16-22 Coppergate for deposits which, on a range of evidence, and

where worm eggs were abundant, were considered (with two possible exceptions) included only human

faeces, was 13:1 (although there were num erous case s where th e ratio was 3:1 or low er—see Table

10—and the high ratio may be influenced by differential loss of Ascaris was less good in the numerous

samples with low egg counts). At the present site, by contrast, the ratio ranged from 1:1 to 3:1 for the four

deposits investigated. There is thus some suspicion that pig faeces, or pig faeces containing recycled human

faeces.

These Parliament Street deposits appear to have formed well away from the street frontage, in other words

well removed from the likely position of houses, and so may represent an area where the foul conditions

generated by livestock would b e tolerated.

Insects included components indicating foul matter, compatible with interpretation as faeces of humans

or livestock. The p resence o f abunda nt water flea s in some dep osits perhap s point to latter (th ey wou ld

have been noticeable in drinkin g water for humans, sur ely, and would have sed imented out in br ewing)

unless the wa ter was waste f rom a process such as d yeing or s kin clean ing.

The remains of honeybees were present in all of the samples, and in one case appeared to be too abundant

to be present by chance arrival as ‘background’. Evidence from 16-22 Coppergate has led to the

suggestion that bees were kept at that site, so the same may be true of the yards behind Ousegate.

However, other means of entry for bees needs to be evaluated: firstly, their ingestion with food (having

been contaminants in honey); seco ndly ejection during the extraction of honey from com bs (or in

subsequent purification), and thirdly, extraction during purification of wax. The superb preservation of

some of the bees from 4-7 Parliament Street might suggest a direct entry rather than a route involving

processes such as heating and straining. The effect of passage through the gut requires study.

The overall impression is that this site w as unlike any thing studied a t 16-22 C oppergate, e specially if it

is accepted that the three ‘dumps’ were re ally on surfa ces and no t in unrecognis ed pits. Cu ts on the sca le

of those seen in what may well be equivalent tenements fronting the Ousegate-Pavement line at 44 -5

Parliament Street would not necess arily be reco gnizable as su ch in section s in an excavatio n as small as

that at 4-7 Parliament Street. It seems possible that the present site lay in an area with poorer drainage than

was experienced at 16-22 Coppergate and 6-8 Pavement. Equivalent deposits (in terms of quality of

preservation) but of medieval date w ere obs erved in th e level are a at Swin egate, w here the re may h ave

been impeded drainage.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Palaeoecology Research Services, and in particular Darren Worthy, for

processing the subsamples discussed here and to York Archaeological Trust for archaeological information

and for collecting samples under difficult circumstances.

11

References

Carrott, J. and Kenward, H. (2000). Publication draft: Species associations among insect remains from

urban archaeolo gical deposits and their significance in reconstructing the past human environmen t. Reports

from the Environmental Archaeology Unit, York 2000/11.

Fisher, R. A., Corbet, A. S. and Williams, C. B. (194 3). The relation between the number of species and

the number of individuals in a random sample of an animal population. Journal of Animal Ecology 12,

42-58.

Hall, A. R., Jones, A. K. G . and Kenw ard, H. K. (1983 ). Cereal bran and human faecal remains from

archaeological deposits - some preliminary observations, pp. 85-104 in Proudfoot, B. (ed.) Site,

environment and economy . Symposia of the Association for Environmental Archaeology 3, British

Archaeological Reports International Series 173.

Hall, A. R. and Kenward, H. K. (1990). Environmental evidence from the Colonia: General Accident and

Rougier Street. The Archaeology of York 14 (6), 289-43 4 + Plates II-IX + Fic he 2-11. Lo ndon: Co uncil

for British Archaeology.

Johnson, M . (ed.) (1999). 4-7 Parliamen t Street, York. Report on an arch aeological watching brief. York

Archaeological Trust Field Report 71.

Kenward, H. K. (1992). Rapid recording of archaeological insect remains - a reconsideration. Circaea,

the Journal of the Association for Environmental Archaeology 9 (for 1991), 81-8.

Kenward, H. K., Engleman, C., Robertson, A., and Large, F. (1986). Rapid scanning of urban

archaeological deposits for insec t remains. Circaea 3, 163-72.

Kenward, H. and Hall, A. (2000). Technical Report: Plant and invertebrate remains from Anglo-

Scandinavian deposits at the Queen’s Hotel site, 1-9 Micklegate, York (site code 88 -9.17). reports from

the EAU, York 2000/14.

Kenward, H. K., Hall, A. R. and Jones, A. K. G. (1980). A tested set of techniques for the extraction of

plant and animal macrofossils from waterlogged archaeological de posits. Science and Archaeology 22,

3-15.

Kenward, H. and Large, F. (1998). Insects in urban waste pits in Viking York: another kind of seasonality.

Environmental Archaeology 3, 35-53.

Kloet, G. S. and Hincks, W . D. (1964-77). A check list of British Insects. (2nd ed.) London: Royal

Entomological Society.

Smith, A. J. E. (1978). The moss flora of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: University Press.

Taylor, E. L. (1955). P arasitic helminths in medieval remains. Veterinary Record 67, 216.

Tutin, T. G. et al. (1964-80). Flora Europaea 1-5. Cambridge: University Press.

12

Table 1. List of samples from 4-7 Parliament Street, York, examined for plant and invertebrateremains. Wt.—weight processed (kg).

Context Sample Section from which sampled Context type Wt.

1005 11 1 layer 2

1024 2 2 layer 2

1031 8 3 layer (basal deposit encountered intrench)

2

1043 4 3 fill in cut 1044 2

13

Table 2. Complete list of plant and invertebrate remains recorded from samples from 4-7Parliament Street, York, in taxonomic order. Order and nomenclature follow Tutin et al. (1964-90) for vascular plants, Smith (1976) for mosses, and Kloet and Hincks (1964-77) for insects.Plant material not specifically noted as being preserved by charring or mineral replacement canbe taken to be uncharred and unmineralised (i.e. ‘waterlogged’, but sometimes denoted simplyas ‘uncharred’). Where both secure and tentative identifications for a given taxon wererecorded, only the former are listed here. For invertebrates, * = not used in calculatingassemblage statistics (Table 6); ecode—ecological code used in generating main statistics(Table 6); sp(p).—species not previously listed; sp(p). indet.—may be a species already listed.

BRYOPHYTA (parts were leaves and/or shoot

fragments unless otherwise specified)

Polytrichum commune Hedw .

Dicranum scoparium Hedw .

Barbula sp(p).

Racomitrium sp(p).

cf. Anomobryum filiforme (Dicks.) So lms-Lau b.

Plagiomnium cf. affine (Funck .) Kop.

Ulota sp(p).

Leucodon sciuroides (Hedw .) Schwae gr.

Antitrichia curtipendula (Hedw .) Brid.

Neckera crispa Hedw .

N. complan ata (Hedw .) Hüb.

Homalia trichomanoides (Hedw .) Br. Eur.

cf. Myrinia pu lvinata (Wahle nb.) Sch imp.

Thuidium tamariscinum (Hedw .) Br. Eur.

Campylium stellatum (Hedw .) Lange & Jens.

C. elodes (Lindb .) Kindb .

Amblystegium sp(p).

Drepanocladus sp(p).

Scorpidium scorpioides (Hedw .) Limp r.

Calliergon cf. giganteum (Schim p.) Kind b.

C. cuspidatum (Hedw .) Kindb .

Isothecium myurum Brid.

I. myosuroides Brid.

Homalothecium sericeum (Hedw .) Br. Eur./ H.

lutescens (Hedw.) Robins.

Pseudoscleropodium purum (Hedw.) Fleisch

Eurhynchium striatum (Hedw .) Schim p.

E. praelongum (Hedw .) Br. Eur.

Rhyncho stegiella tenella (Dicks.) L impr.

Hypnum cf. cupressiforme Hedw .

Rhytidiadelphus sp(p).

Pleurozium schreb eri (Brid.) M itt.

Hylocomium brevirostre (Brid.) B r. Eur.

H. splendens (Hedw .) Br. Eur.

PTERIDOPHYTA

Diphasium complanatum (L.) Rothm. (comp lanate

clubmoss): shoot fragments

Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn (bracken): pinnule,

rachis and stalk fragments

GYMNOSPERMAE

Pinus sp(p). (pine): wood chips

ANGIOPSERMAE

Myrica gale L. (bog myrtle/sw eet gale): leaf

fragments

Betula sp(p). (birch): female catkin-scales

Corylus avellana L. (hazel): charred and uncharred

nuts and/or nutshe ll fragments

Quercus sp(p). (oak): buds and/or bud-scales, wood

chips

Humulus lupulus L. (hop): achenes

Urtica urens L. (annual nettle): achenes

Polygonum aviculare agg. (knotgrass): fruits

P. hydropiper L. (water-pepper): fruits

P. persicaria L. (persicaria/red shank): fruits

P. lapathifolium L. (pale persicaria): fruits

Bilderdykia convolvulus (L.) Dumort. (black

bindweed ): fruits (some with

perianths/segments) and fruit fragments

Rumex ace tosella agg. (sheep’s sorrel): fruits

Rumex sp(p). (docks): charred and uncharred fruits

Chenopodium album L. (fat hen): seeds

Atriplex sp(p). (oraches): seeds

Stellaria holostea L. (greater stitchwort): stem

fragments

Agrostemma githago L. (corncockle): uncharred

and mineralised seeds, un charred seed fragments

Ranunculus Section Ranunculus

(meadow/creeping/bulbous buttercup): achenes

R. flammula L. (lesser spearwort): achenes

Isatis tinctoria L. (woad): pod and vegetative

fragments

Thlaspi arven se L. (field penny-cress): seeds

Brassica rapa L. (‘turnip’): seeds

Brassica sp(p). (cabbages, etc.): seeds and seed

fragments

Brassica sp./Sinapis arven sis L. (brassica/charloc k):

seeds, seed fragments

Raphanus raphanistrum L. (wild radish): pod

segments and/or fragments

Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim. (m eadowsw eet):

achenes

14

Rubus fruticosus agg. (blackberry/bramble): seeds

R. caesius L. (dewberry): seeds

Rosa sp(p). (roses): achenes

Agrimonia e upatoria L. (agrimony): fruits

Potentilla cf. erecta (L.) Räusch el (?tormentil):

achenes

Malus sylvestris Miller (crab apple): endocarp,

seeds, immature seeds, mineralised

seeds/embryos

Sorbus au cuparia L. (rowan, moutain ash): seeds

Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (hawthorn): pyrenes

Crataegus sp(p). (hawthorns): thorns

Prunus spinosa L. (sloe): fruitstones, thorns

P. domestica cf. ssp. domestica (plums, etc.):

fruitstones

P. domestica ssp. insititia (L.) C. K. Schneider

(plums, etc.): fruitstones

Prunus sp(p). (sloe/plu m/cherry, etc.): mesoc arp

fragments, mine ralised meso carp and en docarp

Legumino sae (pea family): flowers and/or petals

Genista tinctoria L. (dyer’s greenweed): charred

and uncharred stem fragments, uncharred twig

epidermis fragments

cf. G. tinctoria: pod fragments

Vicia faba L. (field bean): mineralised and

waterlogged testa fragments, tracheid bars

underneath hilum

cf. V. faba: charred seeds, immature seeds

(waterlogged)

Pisum sativum L. (garden/field pea): mineralised

hila

cf. P. sativum: tracheid bars underneath hilum

P. cf. sativum: waterlogged hila

Linum usitatissimum L. (cultivated flax): capsule

fragments, mineralised and uncharred seeds

Scandix pe cten-veneris L. (shephe rd’s needle ):

mericarps

Aethusa cynapium L. (fool’s parsley): mericarps

Anethum graveolens L. (dill): mericarps

Conium maculatum L. (hemlo ck): mericarp

fragments

Apium graveolens L. (wild celery): mericarps

Pastinaca sativa L./Heracleum sphondylium L.

(wild parsnip/hogweed): mericarps

Calluna vu lgaris (L.) Hull (heather, ling): flowers,

shoot fragments

cf. C. vulgaris : root and/or basal twig fragments

Vaccinium sp(p). (‘bilberries’): tori (plates at base

of style, apex of fruit), seeds

Fraxinus sp(p). (ash): wood chips

Galium aparine L. (goosegrass, cle avers): epicarp

(fruit skin), mineralised fruits

Rubia tinctorum L. (dyer’s madder): root fragments

Galeopsis Subgenus Galeopsis (hemp-n ettles):

nutlets

Prunella vulga ris L. (selfheal): nutlets

Satureja ho rtensis L. (summer savory): nutlets

Plantago lan ceolata L. (ribwort plantain): seeds

Sambucu s nigra L. (elder): seeds

Valerianella den tata (L.) Pollich (narrow-fruited

cornsalad): fruits

Dipsacus sativus (L.) Honckeny/D. fullonum L.

(fullers’/wild teasel): fruit fragments

Bidens sp(p). (bur-marigolds): achenes

Anthemis cotu la L. (stinking mayweed): achenes

Carduus/Cirsium sp(p). (thistles): achenes

Centaurea cf. nigra L. (?lesser knapw eed):

involucres/fragments

Centaurea sp(p). (knapweeds, etc.): achenes,

achene fragments, involucral bracts

Hypocho eris sp(p). (cat’s ears): achenes

Leontodon sp(p). (hawkbits): achenes

Picris hieracioides L. (hawkwee d ox-tong ue):

achenes

Sonchus asper (L.) Hill (prickly sow-th istle):

achenes

S. oleraceus L. (sow-thistle): achenes

Lapsana c ommunis L. (nipplewort): achenes

Allium cf. porrum L. (?leek): leaf epidermis

fragments

Allium sp(p). (onions, etc.): leaf epidermis

fragments

Juncus bufonius L. (toad rush): seeds

Gramineae (grasses): waterlogged caryopsis/es

Gramineae/Cerealia (grasses/cereals): waterlogged

culm fragments and culm nodes

‘Cerealia’ indet. (cereals): waterlogged chaff and

rachis fragments

Triticum/Secale (wheat/rye): waterlogged caryopses

and peride rm fragments (‘bran’)

Avena sp(p). (oats): charred, mineralised and

waterlogged caryopses, waterlog ged peride rm

fragments and spikelets/spikelet fragments

cf. Avena sp(p).: mineralised spikelets/spikelet

fragments

Cyperaceae (sedge family): papillose leaf epidermis

fragments

Scirpus maritimu s L./S. lacustris s.l. (sea

club-rush/bulrush ): nutlets

Eleocharis pa lustris s.l. (commo n spike-rush ):

nutlets

Carex sp(p). (sedges): mineralised and uncharred

nutlets

Ecological code

NEMATODA

Ascaris sp. u

ANNELIDA

*Oligochaeta sp . (egg capsule) u

CRUSTACEA

*Cladocera sp p. (ephipp ium) oa-w

*Isopod a sp. u

15

DERMAPTERA

*Forficula sp. u

MALLOPHAGA

*Damalinia o vis (Schrank) u

SIPHUNCULATA

*Pediculus humanus Linnaeus ss

*Pediculus humanus Linnaeus (nymph) ss

HEMIPTERA

Heterogaster urticae (Fabricius) oa-p

Empicoris ?cu liciformis (Degeer) rt

Lyctocoris camp estris (Fabricius) rd-st

Xylocoris sp. u

Saldida e sp. oa-d

Corixid ae sp. oa-w

*Heteroptera sp . (nymph) u

Delph acidae sp . oa-p

*Aucheno rhyncha sp. (nym ph) oa-p

*Aphidoid ea sp. (parasitised m ummy) u

*Cocc oidea sp . u

DIPTERA

*Syrphidae sp. (larva) u

*Melophagus ovinus (Linnaeus) (adult) u

*Melophagus ovinus (puparium) u

*Diptera spp. (larva) u

*Diptera spp. (pu pa) u

*Diptera spp. (pu parium) u

*Diptera spp. (adu lt) u

SIPHONAPTERA

*Pulex irritans Linnaeus ss

COLEOPTERA

Bembidion biguttatum (Fabricius) oa-d

Bembidion ?guttula (Fabricius) oa

Bembidion guttula or mannerheimi oa

Bembidion sp. oa

Pterostichus ?melanarius (Illiger) ob

Pterostichus (Poecilus) sp. oa

Pterostichus sp. indet. ob

Amara sp. oa

Carabid ae sp. ob

Agabus bipustulatus (Linnaeus) oa-w

Helophorus sp. oa-w

Cercyon a nalis (Paykull) rt-sf

Cercyon atricapillus (Marsham) rf-st

Cercyon h aemorrhoid alis (Fabricius) rf-sf

Cercyon terminatus (Marsham) rf-st

Cercyon unipunctatus (Linnaeus) rf-st

Cryptopleurum minutum (Fabricius) rf-st

Hydrobius fuscipes (Linnaeus) oa-w

Acritus nigricornis (Hoffmann) rt-st

Histerin ae sp. rt

Ochthebius minimus (Fabricius) oa-w

Ptenidium sp. rt

Acrotrichis sp. rt

Catops sp. u

?Aclypea opaca (Linnaeus) ob-rt

Megarthrus sp. rt

Phyllodrepa ? floralis (Paykull) rt-sf

Dropephy lla sp. u

Acrolocha sulcula (Stephens) rt

Omalium ?rivu lare (Paykull) rt-sf

Omalium sp. rt

Xylodromus concinnus (Marsham) rt-st

Xylodromus sp. rt-st

Carpelimus bilineatus Stephens rt-sf

Carpelimus fuliginosus (Gravenhorst) st

Carpelimus ? rivularis (Mo tsch ulsk y) ob-d

Carpelimus sp. u

Platystethus arenarius (Fou rcroy) rf

Platystethus degener Mulsant & Rey oa-d

Platystethus cornutus group indet. oa-d

Platystethus nitens (Sahlberg) oa-d

Anotylus complanatus (Erichson) rt-sf

Anotylus nitidulus (Gravenhorst) rt

Anotylus rugosus (Fabricius) rt

Oxytelus sculptus Gravenhorst rt-st

Stenus spp. u

Lithocharis ochracea (Gravenhorst) rt-st

Rugilus sp. rt

Leptacinus ?intermedius Donisthorpe rt-st

Leptacinus ?pusillus (Stephens) rt-st

Leptacinus sp. indet. rt-st

Phacophallus parumpunctatus (Gyllenhal) rt-st

Gyrohypnus angustatus Stephens rt-st

Gyrohypn us fracticornis (Muller) rt-st

Neobisnius sp. u

Philonthus discoideus (Gravenhorst) rt-st

Philonthus politus (Linnaeus) rt-st

Philonthus spp. u

Quedius sp. u

Staphylin inae sp. u

Tachyporus sp. u

Cypha sp. rt

Falagria caesa or sulcatula rt-sf

Falagria or Cordalia sp. indet. rt-sf

Aleochara sp. u

Aleocharinae spp. u

Pselaph idae sp. u

Trox scaber (Linnaeus) rt-sf

Geotrupes sp. oa-rf

Aphodius ?depressus (Kugelann) rf

Aphodius granarius (Linnaeus) ob-rf

Aphodius spp. ob-rf

Clambus pubescens Redtenbacher rt-sf

Clambus sp. indet. rt-sf

?Cyphon sp. oa-d

?Scirtidae sp. indet. oa-d

Anobium punctatum (Degeer) l-sf

16

Ptilinus pectinicornis (Linnaeus) l-sf

Ptinus fur (Linnaeus) rd-sf

Ptinus sp. indet. rd-sf

Lyctus linearis (Goeze) l-sf

Malachius sp. u

Meligethes sp. oa-p

Omosita colon (Linnaeus) rt-sf

Omosita discoidea (Fabricius) rt-sf

Rhizophagus sp. u

Monoto ma longico llis (Gyllenhall) rt-st

Monotoma sp. rt-sf

Cryptophagus scutellatus Newman rd-st

Cryptophagus spp. rd-sf

Atomaria spp. rd

Ephistemus globulus (Paykull) rd-sf

Orthoperus sp. rt

Mycetaea hirta (Marsham) rd-ss

Stephostethu s angusticollis (Gyllenhal) rt-st

Lathridius minutus group rd-st

Enicmus sp. rt-sf

Dienerella sp. rd-sf

Corticaria spp. rt-sf

Corticarina or Cortinicara sp. rt

Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus) rd-ss

Aglenus brunneus (Gyllenhal) rt-ss

Blaps sp. rt-ss

Tenebrio obscurus Fabricius rt-ss

?Abdera q uadrifasciata (Curtis) u

Anthicus formicarius (Goeze) rt-st

Anthicus floralis or formicarius rt-st

?Phymatodes alni (Linnaeus) l

Ceram bycidae s p. l

Bruchus rufimanus Bohem an st

Chrysom elinae sp . oa-p

Phyllotreta nemorum group oa-p

Chaetocnema arida group oa-p

Chaetocnema concinna (Marsham) oa-p

Psylliodes sp. oa-p

Halticin ae sp. oa-p

Apion sp. oa-p

Sitona sp. oa-p

Hypera pun ctata (Fabricius) oa-p

Ceutorhynchus contractus (Marsham) oa-p

Rhinoncus sp. oa-p

Ceuth orhynch inae sp. oa-p

Curcu lionid ae sp. oa

*Coleop tera sp. (larva) u

HYMENOPTERA

*?Spalan gia sp. u

*Chalcid oidea sp . u

*Proctot rupoid ea sp. u

*Apis mellifera Linnaeus u

*Hymeno ptera Parasi tica spp . u

*Hymeno ptera spp . u

ARACHNIDA

*Aranae sp. u

*Acarina sp. u

INC ER TA E S ED IS

*Reticulate tubes u

VERTEBRATA

*Aves sp. (feather) u

*Mammalia sp . (hair) u

17

Table 3. Lists of plants remains and other components of the samples from 4-7 ParliamentStreet, York, in context, sample and subsample order. For each list records are presented indescending order by abundance score (on a 3- or 4-point scale as appropriate for the kind ofsample) and for each score in alphabetical order.

Abbreviation s: af—achene fragment(s); b—bud(s); br—bract(s); bs—bud-scale(s); caps—capsule(s); ch—charred;

c/n—culm -nodes; dec—decayed; endo—endocarp; fcs—female catkin or cone scale(s); ff—fruit fragment(s);

fgt/s—fragme nt/s; f ls—flower(s); fr—fruit; imm—immature; inc—including; inv—involucre/involucral; lef—leaf

epidermis fragment(s); lf—leaf; lvs—leaves; max—maximum; meso—mesocarp; mf—mericarp fragment(s);

min—mineral-replaced (‘mineralised’); pap— papillose; per—perianth(s); pet—petal(s); pinn—pinnule; rt-tw—root

or basal twig; s—seed(s); segs—segment(s); sf—seed fragment(s); sht—sh oot; spklts—spikelet(s); st—stem;

tef—twig epidermis fragment(s); undisagg—undisaggregated; v—very; veg—vegetative; w/l—waterlogged.

Context 1005, Sample 11/T1

Triticum/Secale (‘bran’ fgts) 4Cerealia indet. (w/l chaff) 3faecal concretions 3 max 40 mmLinum usitatiss imum 3 inc fgtsAgrostemma githago (sf) 2Allium cf. porrum (lef) 2Anthemis cotula 2Atriplex sp(p). 2Avena sp(p). (‘bran’ fgts) 2cf. Avena sp(p). (min spklts/fgts) 2charcoal 2 max 10 mmeggshell membrane fgts 2 max 20 mmfish bone 2 max 10 mmfly puparia 2herbaceous detritus 2Hylocomium splendens 2Lapsana communis 2Malus sylvestris 2Malus sylvestris (endo) 2Prunus spinosa 2Rubus fruticosus agg. 2Triticum/Secale (w/l) 2Vaccinium sp(p). 2Vicia faba (tracheid bars) 2wood chips 2 max 15 mmwood fgts 2 max 20 mm‘coils’ 1Aethusa cynapium 1Agrimonia eupatoria 1Agrostemma githago 1Antitrichia curtipendula 1Avena sp(p). (w/l) 1bark fgts 1 max 40 mmbeetles 1Betula sp(p). (fcs) 1Bilderdykia convolvulus 1Bilderdykia convolvulus (ff) 1bone fgts 1 max 10 mmBrassica rapa 1Brassica sp(p). 1Brassica sp./Sinapis arvensis 1burnt bone fgts 1 max 10 mmCalliergon cuspidatum 1Calluna vulgaris (fls) 1

Calluna vulgaris (sht fgts) 1Campylium stellatum 1Carex sp(p). 1Carex sp(p). (min) 1Cerealia indet. (w/l rachis fgts) 1cf. Anomobryum fil iforme 1cf. Calluna vulgaris (rt-tw fgts) 1cf. Genista tinctoria (pod fgts) 1cf. Pisum sativum (tracheid bars) 1Chenopodium album 1Corylus avellana 1Corylus avellana (ch) 1dicot lf fgts 1dicot stem fgts 1Dicranum scoparium 1Diphasium complanatum 1 v decDrepanocladus sp(p). 1earthworm egg caps 1eggshell fgts 1 max 5 mmEurhynchium praelongum 1Filipendula ulmaria 1fly puparia (min) 1fruit epidermis 1fruit mesocarp 1Galeopsis Subgenus Galeopsis 1Galium aparine (min) 1Genista tinctoria (st fgts) 1Genista tinctoria (tef) 1Gramineae 1Gramineae/Cerealia (c/n) 1gravel 1 max 5 mmHomalia trichomanoides 1Humulus lupulus 1Hypnum cf. cupressiforme 1leather fgts 1 v dec, max 10

mmLeucodon sciuroides 1Linum usitatiss imum (min) 1Malus sylvestris (imm s) 1Malus sylvestris (min) 1Malus sylvestris (seed base cups) 1mortar 1 max 10 mmMyrica gale (lf fgts) 1Neckera complanata 1Neckera crispa 1Pisum sativum (min hila) 1

18

plant fibres 1Pleurozium schreberi 1Polygonum aviculare agg. 1Polygonum hydropiper 1Polygonum lapathifolium 1Polygonum persicaria 1Potentilla cf. erecta 1Prunus domestica ssp. insititia 1Prunus spinosa (thorns) 1Pseudoscleropodium purum 1Quercus sp(p). (b/bs) 1Ranunculus Section Ranunculus 1Raphanus raphanistrum (pod segs/fgts) 1Rhynchostegiella tenella 1rodent droppings (min) 1Rubia tinctorum 1Rumex sp(p). (ch) 1Sambucus nigra 1sand 1Satureja hortensis 1Scandix pecten-veneris 1 fgt(s) onlyScirpus maritimus/lacustris 1Scorpidium scorpioides 1Sonchus asper 1Sonchus oleraceus 1Sorbus aucuparia 1twig fgts 1 max 40 x 10

mmUlota sp(p). 1Urtica urens 1Vaccinium sp(p). (pistil bases) 1Vicia faba (min testa fgts) 1worked wood fgts 1 max 65 mm


Triticum/Secale (‘bran’ fgts) 4?rat-tailed maggot (larva) 3Avena sp(p). (‘bran’ fgts) 3fly puparia 3herbaceous detritus 3Linum usitatiss imum 3Malus sylvestris (endo) 3Agrostemma githago (sf) 2Allium cf. porrum (lef) 2animal bris tles 2animal hairs 2Anthemis cotula 2Atriplex sp(p). 2bark fgts 2 max 25 mmCerealia indet. (w/l chaff) 2Crataegus monogyna 2fruit epidermis 2Humulus lupulus 2Lapsana communis 2Malus sylvestris 2Prunella vulgaris 2Prunus spinosa 2Raphanus raphanistrum (pod segs/fgts) 2rodent droppings (min) 2Rubus fruticosus agg. 2

Triticum/Secale (w/l) 2Vaccinium sp(p). 2Vicia faba (tracheid bars) 2wood chips 2 max 40 mmwood fgts 2 max 90 mm‘coils’ 1Agrostemma githago 1Amblystegium sp(p). 1Anethum graveolens 1Antitrichia curtipendula 1Apium graveolens 1Avena sp(p). (w/l) 1beetles 1Bilderdykia convolvulus (ff) 1bone fgts 1 max 90 mmBrassica rapa 1Brassica sp(p). (sf) 1Brassica sp./Sinapis arvensis (sf) 1brick/tile 1 max 10 mmbuds 1burnt bone fgts 1 max 5 mmCalliergon cf. giganteum 1Calliergon cuspidatum 1Carduus/Cirsium sp(p). 1Carex sp(p). 1Centaurea cf. nigra (inv fgts) 1Centaurea sp(p). 1Centaurea sp(p). (af) 1Centaurea sp(p). (inv br) 1cf. Avena sp(p). 1cf. Barbula sp(p). 1cf. Drepanocladus sp(p). 1cf. Myrinia pulvinata 1cf. Rubia tinctorum 1cf. Vicia faba (imm s) 1Chenopodium album 1Corylus avellana 1 inc material

with apicalknife marks

Crataegus sp(p). (thorns) 1Cyperaceae (pap lef) 1dicot lf fgts 1dicot stem fgts 1Dicranum scoparium 1Diphasium complanatum 1Dipsacus sativus/fullonum (fr fgts) 1eggshell membrane fgts 1 max 40 mmEleocharis palustris sl 1Eurhynchium striatum 1faecal concretions 1 max 10 mmfish bone 1 max 5 mmfish scale 1Galeopsis Subgenus Galeopsis 1Genista tinctoria (st fgts) 1glassy slag 1 max 5 mmGramineae/Cerealia (c/n) 1Gramineae/Cerealia (culm fgts) 1gravel 1 max 10 mmgrit 1Hylocomium splendens 1Hypnum cf. cupressiforme 1Hypochoeris sp(p). 1

19

Isatis tinctoria (pod fgts) 1Isatis tinctoria (veg fgts) 1Isothecium myosuroides 1Isothecium myurum 1leather fgts 1 v dec, max 20

mmMalus sylvestris (seed base cups) 1Neckera complanata 1oyster shell fgts 1 max 60 mmPicris hieracioides 1Pinus (wood chips) 1plant fibres 1Plantago lanceolata 1Polygonum aviculare agg. 1Polygonum hydropiper 1Polygonum lapathifolium 1Prunus domestica ssp. insititia 1Prunus sp(p). (meso) 1Pteridium aquilinum (rachis fgts) 1Pteridium aquilinum (stalk fgts) 1Quercus (wood chips) 1Quercus sp(p). (b/bs) 1Ranunculus Section Ranunculus 1Rhytidiadelphus sp(p). 1Rosa sp(p). 1Rubus caesius 1Rumex acetosella agg. 1Rumex sp(p). 1Sambucus nigra 1sand 1Scorpidium scorpioides 1snails 1Sonchus asper 1Sorbus aucuparia 1Stellaria holostea (st fgts) 1Thlaspi arvense 1Thuidium cf. tamariscinum 1twig fgts 1 max 30 x 10

mmUlota sp(p). 1unwashed organic sediment 1 max 10 mmUrtica urens 1Vaccinium sp(p). (pistil bases) 1Valerianella dentata 1Vicia faba (testa fgts) 1vivianite 1worked wood fgts 1 max 60 mmyarn fgts 1


Cerealia indet. (w/l chaff) 3fruit epidermis 3Triticum/Secale (‘bran’ fgts) 3 mostly <1

mmAgrostemma githago (sf) 2Allium sp(p). (lef) 2Anthemis cotula 2Atriplex sp(p). 2bark fgts 2 max 40 mmChenopodium album 2

Corylus avellana 2faecal concretions 2 max 25 mmherbaceous detritus 2Humulus lupulus 2Leontodon sp(p). 2Linum usitatiss imum 2 inc fgtsMalus sylvestris 2Malus sylvestris (endo) 2Raphanus raphanistrum (pod segs/fgts) 2Rubus fruticosus agg. 2wood chips 2 max 40 mm?daub 1 max 10 mmAgrostemma githago 1Agrostemma githago (min) 1Anethum graveolens 1animal bris tles 1animal hairs 1Apium graveolens 1Avena sp(p). 1Avena sp(p). (‘bran’ fgts) 1Avena sp(p). (w/l spklts/fgts) 1Avena sp(p). (w/l) 1bark chips 1 max 20 mmbast fgts 1beetles 1Bidens sp(p). 1Bilderdykia convolvulus (ff) 1Bilderdykia convolvulus (inc per) 1bone fgts 1 max 90 mmBrassica rapa 1 inc fgtsBrassica sp./Sinapis arvensis (sf) 1brick/tile 1 max 5 mmburnt bone fgts 1 max 20 mmCalliergon cuspidatum 1cf. Vicia faba 1 a single

specimencharcoal 1 max 20 mmConium maculatum (mf) 1Cyperaceae (pap lef) 1dicot lf fgts 1dicot stem fgts 1Diphasium complanatum 1Drepanocladus sp(p). 1earthworm egg caps 1eggshell membrane fgts 1 max 50 mmEurhynchium praelongum 1Eurhynchium striatum 1fish bone 1 max 15 mmfish scale 1fly puparia 1Fraxinus (wood chips) 1Galeopsis Subgenus Galeopsis 1Genista tinctoria (st fgts) 1 max 20 mmGenista tinctoria (tef) 1Gramineae/Cerealia (culm fgts) 1gravel 1 max 15 mmgrit 1gritstone 1 max 20 mmHomalothecium sericeum/lutescens 1Hylocomium cf. brevirostre 1Hypochoeris sp(p). 1Isatis tinctoria (pod fgts) 1

20

Isatis tinctoria (veg fgts) 1Isothecium myosuroides 1Juncus bufonius 1Lapsana communis 1leaf ab pads 1leather fgts 1 max 25 mmLeguminosae (fls/pet) 1Linum usitatissimum (caps fgts) 1magnesian limestone 1 max 25 mmmortar 1 max 5 mmNeckera complanata 1oolitic limestone 1 max 70 mmoyster shell fgts 1 max 60 mmPisum cf. sativum (hila) 1plant fibres 1Polygonum aviculare agg. 1Polygonum lapathifolium 1Polygonum persicaria 1Prunella vulgaris 1Prunus sp(p). (min meso) 1Prunus spinosa (thorns) 1Pteridium aquilinum (pinn fgts) 1Pteridium aquilinum (stalk fgts) 1Quercus (wood chips) 1Quercus sp(p). (b/bs) 1Racomitrium sp(p). 1Ranunculus flammula 1Ranunculus Section Ranunculus 1Rhytidiadelphus sp(p). 1rodent droppings (min) 1Rubia tinctorum 1Rumex sp(p). 1sand 1Scorpidium scorpioides 1Triticum/Secale (w/l) 1twig fgts 1 max. 30 x 5

mmunwashed organic sediment 1 max 35 mmVaccinium sp(p). 1Vicia faba (min testa fgts) 1yarn fgts 1


Triticum/Secale (‘bran’ fgts) 4Allium cf. porrum (lef) 3Avena sp(p). (‘bran’ fgts) 3Cerealia indet. (w/l chaff) 3herbaceous detritus 3Agrostemma githago (sf) 2Campylium elodes 2Campylium stellatum 2faecal concretions 2 max 25 mmGenista tinctoria (st fgts) 2Genista tinctoria (tef) 2Isatis tinctoria (veg fgts) 2Linum usitatiss imum 2Malus sylvestris (endo) 2Neckera complanata 2Pseudoscleropodium purum 2Scorpidium scorpioides 2

Triticum/Secale (w/l) 2wood chips 2 max 50 mmAethusa cynapium 1Agrostemma githago 1Anethum graveolens 1animal bris tles 1animal hairs 1Anthemis cotula 1Ascaris (eggs) 1Atriplex sp(p). 1Avena sp(p). (min) 1Avena sp(p). (w/l) 1Barbula sp(p). 1bark fgts 1 max 20 mmbeetles 1Bidens sp(p). 1Bilderdykia convolvulus 1Bilderdykia convolvulus (ff) 1bone fgts 1 max 5 mmBrassica rapa 1brick/tile 1 max 10 mmCalliergon cf. giganteum 1Calliergon cuspidatum 1Carduus/Cirsium sp(p). 1Centaurea cf. nigra (inv fgts) 1cf. Avena sp(p). (min spklts/fgts) 1cf. Calluna vulgaris (rt-tw fgts) 1 max 15 mmcf. Genista tinctoria (pod fgts) 1cf. Vicia faba (min testa fgts) 1charcoal 1 max 10 mmChenopodium album 1Corylus avellana 1 max 5 mmdicot lf fgts 1dicot lf fgts (min) 1dicot stem fgts 1Dicranum scoparium 1Diphasium complanatum 1earthworm egg caps 1eggshell membrane fgts 1 max 25 mmEurhynchium praelongum 1Eurhynchium striatum 1fish bone 1 max 10 mmfly puparia 1fruit epidermis 1Galeopsis Subgenus Galeopsis 1Galium aparine (epicarp) 1Genista tinctoria (ch st fgts) 1Gramineae/Cerealia (c/n) 1Hylocomium brevirostre 1Hylocomium splendens 1Isothecium myosuroides 1Lapsana communis 1leather fgts 1 max 10 mmMalus sylvestris 1Myrica gale (lf fgts) 1 max 5 mmPastinaca sativa/ Heracleum sphondylium 1 fgt(s) onlyPlagiomnium cf. affine 1plant fibres 1Polygonum hydropiper 1

21

Polygonum lapathifolium 1Polygonum persicaria 1Polytrichum commune 1Prunus domestica cf. ssp. domestica 1Prunus domestica ssp. insititia 1Prunus sp(p). (min meso+endo) 1Prunus spinosa 1Prunus spinosa (thorns) 1Pteridium aquilinum (rachis fgts) 1Pteridium aquilinum (stalk fgts) 1 max 25 mmRanunculus Section Ranunculus 1Raphanus raphanistrum (pod segs/fgts) 1

Rhytidiadelphus sp(p). 1Rubus fruticosus agg. 1textile fgts (min) 1 max 5 mmThuidium tamariscinum 1twig fgts 1 max 30 mmUlota sp(p). 1unwashed organic sediment 1 max 10 mmVaccinium sp(p). 1Vaccinium sp(p). (pistil bases) 1wood fgts 1 max 20 mmyarn fgts 1

22

Table 4. Values for the ‘abundance-indicator value’ (AIV) for assemblages of plant remainsfrom 4-7 Parliament Street, York, in context order. For each sample, AIVs are given indescending order; an explanation of the group codes is given in Table 5. Also presented aresums for the ‘amount’ (on a four-point scale) of the taxa in each group. Note that the AIVs,whilst internally comparable, use a different scale for ‘score’ from that used by, for example,Hall and Kenward (1990); instead of an indicator score of 1, 2 or 3, the scale 1, 5, 25 is usedto ‘stretch’ the range of the resulting AIVs. The two ‘unclassified’ groups are included herebecause, although they do not have AIVs, the sum of taxon amounts is worth recording.

Group Sum AIV


U FOOS 40 832

V CHEN 22 166

V SECA 18 166

U DYES 8 104

V QUFA 16 104

U FOOO 5 101

U FIBR 4 100

V NACA 7 67

V RHPR 13 65

V MOAR 6 62

U FOOF 3 51

V ARTE 10 46

V BIDE 5 45

M HEMO 5 41

M LIGN 10 38

M SLIT 8 36

M WOOF 6 26

M GRAS 5 25

M MARS 5 25

V PLAN 1 25

M OLIT 5 17

V OXSP 4 16

V TRGE 4 16

M FENS 3 15

V FEBR 6 14

M BOGS 2 10

M DUNS 2 10

V ALNE 2 10

V CAKI 2 10

V QUER 3 7

M SOIL 2 6

U HERB 6 6

U USEF 5 5

V EPIL 1 5

U WOOD 3 3

V PHRA 2 2

V BULB 1 1

* UNCL 7 0

M UNCL 1 0

Group Sum AIV


U FOOS 42 822

V SECA 16 196

V CHEN 19 151

U DYES 6 102

U FOOF 4 100

V RHPR 19 91

V QUFA 18 86

V MOAR 9 81

U FOOO 4 76

U FIBR 3 75

U USEF 10 66

M LIGN 10 62

V ARTE 10 42

V BIDE 4 40

V PLAN 4 40

M SLIT 7 31

V NACA 5 25

M WOOF 5 17

V FEBR 5 17

M MARS 4 16

M OLIT 4 16

V QUER 4 16

V ALNE 3 15

M BOGS 3 11

M FENS 3 11

E CALC 2 10

M GRAS 2 10

V CAKI 2 10

V EPIL 2 10

V TRGE 2 10

M HEMO 2 6

M SOIL 2 6

V PHRA 2 6

M DUNS 1 5

M STRM 1 5

V SESC 1 5

U HERB 3 3

U WOOD 2 2

* UNCL 11 0

M UNCL 4 0

Group Sum AIV


U FOOS 26 482

V SECA 14 186

U DYES 8 152

V CHEN 17 141

U FOOF 4 100

V MOAR 7 95

V QUFA 11 79

U FOOO 4 76

U FIBR 3 75

U USEF 8 64

V RHPR 10 50

V BIDE 5 45

V ARTE 7 31

V PLAN 2 30

M LIGN 6 26

M SLIT 6 26

V ISNA 1 25

V NACA 4 20

M MARS 3 15

M WOOF 3 15

V QUER 3 11

M FENS 2 10

V ALNE 2 10

V CAKI 2 10

V TRGE 2 10

V FEBR 3 7

E CALC 1 5

M BOGS 1 5

M DUNS 1 5

M GRAS 1 5

M OLIT 1 5

M SOIL 1 5

V EPIL 1 5

V LITT 1 5

V SCCA 1 5

U HERB 4 4

U WOOD 2 2

V PHRA 1 1

* UNCL 8 0

M UNCL 3 0

23

Group Sum AIV


U FOOS 27 459

U DYES 10 202

V SECA 12 136

V MOAR 8 132

V CHEN 14 106

V BIDE 5 65

U FOOO 3 51

U FIBR 2 50

V QUFA 8 48

M MARS 10 46

M LIGN 9 45

Group Sum AIV

M SLIT 9 45

M FENS 8 36

M WOOF 8 36

V RHPR 7 35

U FOOF 2 26

V ARTE 6 26

V TRGE 6 26

M BOGS 5 21

M GRAS 5 21

V NACA 5 21

M DUNS 3 15

M HEMO 3 15

U USEF 6 14

Group Sum AIV

V FEBR 8 12

M OLIT 2 10

V QUER 2 10

U HERB 7 7

V OXSP 2 6

M SOIL 1 5

V ALNE 1 5

V CAKI 1 5

V EPIL 1 5

U WOOD 1 1

V PHRA 1 1

* UNCL 4 0

M UNCL 2 0

24

Table 5. Explanation of the codes used for AIV groups in Table 4.

* UNCL unclassified

E CALC plants with distinctly calcicole habit

M BOGS mosses of peat bogs

M DUNS mosses of dunes and dune slacks

M FENS mosses o f fens and carr

M GRAS mosses of grassland

M HEMO mosses of heathland and moorland

M LIGN mosses growing on tree bark/dead wood

M MARS mosses of marshes

M OLIT mosses of unshaded rocks

M SLIT mosses of shaded rocks

M SOIL mosses growing on soil

M STRM mosses of streams

M UNCL unclassified

M WOOF mosses o f woodland floors

U DYES plants certainly or probably used in

dyeing

U FIBR plants certainly or probably used as a

source of fibre

U FOOF plants used as flavourings (including

herbs, spices)

U FOOO plants certainly or probably used for oil

U FOOS primary food plants

U HERB plants certainly or probably used

medicinally

U USEF plants useful in some way other than for

food, fibre, oil, dyeing , medicin e or as

ornamentals

U WOOD plants likely to have originated with

brushwood or timber

V ALNE plants of alder carr

V ARTE plants of bien nial and pe rennial

nitrophilous tall-herb weed communities

of waste places, river-banks, waysides

and hedgerows

V BIDE plants of nitrophilous weed communities

of pond edges, ditches and other places

subject to periodic inundation

V BULB plants of brackish and saline reedswamp

V CAKI plants of nitrophilous weedy

communities of shingle beaches and

sandy strandlines

V CHEN plants of annual nitrophilous weed

communities of cultivated and other

disturbed land, especially rootcrop fields

and gardens

V EPIL plants of nitrophilous woodland edge and

clearing communities

V FEBR plants of drier, typically calcareous,

grassland

V ISNA plants of short-lived dwarf-rush

com mun ities of win ter-w et (o ften s andy)

habitats, pond edges, wet tracks

V LITT plants of rooted aquatic vegetation at the

edge of (usually o ligotroph ic) waters

V MOAR plants of grassland, including the wetter

meadows and pastures, and adjacent

paths

V NACA plants of grass- and dwarf-shrub

(typically Calluna-) dominated dry heaths

and moo rs

V OXSP plants of raised bogs and wet heaths

V PHRA plants of freshwater reedswamp

communities

V PLAN plants of trampled places

V QUER plants of deciduous woodland on poorer

soils

V QUFA plants of deciduous woodland on better

soils

V RHPR plants of woodland edge scrub

communities

V SCCA plants of poor to intermediate fen

commun ities (acid to mildly basic peat)

V SECA plants of annual weed co mmunities in

cereal fields

V SESC plants of established vegetation of sand

dunes and oth er sandy acidic soils

V TRGE plants of species-rich communities of

grassland/scrub boundaries, often

calcicolous

25

Table 6. Main statistics for the assemblages of adult Coleoptera and Hemiptera (excludingAphidoidea and Coccidoidea) from 4-7 Parliament Street, York.

Context 1005 1024 1031 1043 Who le

Sam ple 11 2 8 4 site

Ext /T1 /T1 T1 /T1

S 51 64 61 100 158

N 77 118 108 177 480

ALPHA 66 57 58 95 82

SEALPHA 15 9 10 13 6

SOB 8 20 15 22 43

PSOB 16 31 25 22 27

NOB 10 22 15 24 71

PNOB 13 19 14 14 15

ALPHAOB 0 101 0 121 47

SEALPHAOB 0 70 0 83 10

SW 1 3 1 5 5

PSW 2 5 2 5 3

NW 1 4 1 7 13

PNW 1 3 1 4 3

ALPHAW 0 0 0 0 0

SEALPHAW 0 0 0 0 0

SD 2 3 0 5 8

PSD 4 5 0 5 5

ND 3 3 0 5 11

PND 4 3 0 3 2

ALPHAD 0 0 0 0 0

SEALPHAD 0 0 0 0 0

SP 3 8 8 6 15

PSP 6 13 13 6 9

NP 4 9 8 6 27

PNP 5 8 7 3 6

ALPHAP 0 0 0 0 14

SEALPHAP 0 0 0 0 5

SM 0 0 0 0 0

PSM 0 0 0 0 0

NM 0 0 0 0 0

PNM 0 0 0 0 0

ALPHAM 0 0 0 0 0

SEALPHAM 0 0 0 0 0

SL 1 3 3 3 5

PSL 2 5 5 3 3

NL 2 11 5 4 22

PNL 3 9 5 2 5

ALPHAL 0 0 0 0 2

SEALPHAL 0 0 0 0 1

SRT 32 35 35 56 148

PSRT 63 55 57 56 94

NRT 53 78 75 118 324

PNRT 69 66 69 67 68

ALPHART 35 25 26 42 105

SEALPHART 9 5 5 7 10

SRD 5 6 6 12 29

PSRD 10 9 10 12 18

Context 1005 1024 1031 1043 Who le

Sam ple 11 2 8 4 site

26

NRD 15 18 11 36 80

PNRD 19 15 10 20 17

ALPHARD 0 0 0 6 17

SEALPHARD 0 0 0 2 3

SRF 6 7 7 9 29

PSRF 12 11 11 9 18

NRF 9 21 16 16 62

PNRF 12 18 15 9 13

ALPHARF 0 4 0 0 21

SEALPHARF 0 1 0 0 5

SSA 28 26 27 44 67

PSSA 55 41 44 44 42

NSA 40 71 56 90 257

PNSA 52 60 52 51 54

ALPHASA 42 15 21 34 30

SEALPHASA 14 3 5 6 3

SSF 11 15 15 20 31

PSSF 22 23 25 20 20

NSF 13 32 32 38 115

PNSF 17 27 30 21 24

ALPHASF 0 11 11 17 14

SEALPHASF 0 3 3 5 2

SST 14 8 10 22 30

PSST 27 13 16 22 19

NST 24 32 22 49 127

PNST 31 27 20 28 26

ALPHAST 14 4 7 16 13

SEALPHAST 5 1 3 4 2

SSS 3 3 2 2 6

PSSS 6 5 3 2 4

NSS 3 7 2 3 15

PNSS 4 6 2 2 3

ALPHASS 0 0 0 0 0

SEALPHASS 0 0 0 0 0

SG 0 0 0 0 0

PSG 0 0 0 0 0

NG 0 0 0 0 0

PNG 0 0 0 0 0

ALPHAG 0 0 0 0 0

SEALPHAG 0 0 0 0 0

27

Table 7. Insects and other macro-invertebrates from 4-7 Parliament Street, York: specieslists by context and sample.

Context: 1005 Sample: 11/T1 ReM: R

Weight: 2.00 E: 2.00 F: 2.50

Notes: Entered 6.4.2000. Rapid scan recording since

part of flot had been lost by SB. Reco rded in flot,

some p roblem s on filter p aper. E1 .5-3.0, m ode 2 .0

(W); F 2.0-5.0, mode 2.5 (D). One Apion soft.

Atomaria sp. 7 - rd

Lathridius minutus group 5 - rd-st

Platystethus arenarius 3 - rf

Anotylus nitidulus 3 - rt

Gyrohypnus fracticornis 3 - rt-st

Cercyon analis 2 - rt-sf

Cercyon unipunctatus 2 - rf-st

Acrotrichis sp. 2 - rt

Catops sp. 2 - u

Platystethus cornutus group 2 - oa-d

Oxytelus sculptus 2 - rt-st

Philonthus ?politus 2 - rt-st

Anobium punctatum 2 - l-sf

Bruchus ?rufimanus 2 - st

Apion sp. 2 - oa-p

Corixidae sp. 1 - oa-w

Carabidae sp. 1 - ob

Cercyon ?atricapillus 1 - rf-st

Cercyon haemo rrhoidalis 1 - rf-sf

Cercyon terminatus 1 - rf-st

Acritus nigricornis 1 - rt-st

Ptenidium sp. 1 - rt

Omalium ?rivulare 1 - rt-sf

Xylodromus concinnus 1 - rt-st

Carpelimus ?bilineatus 1 - rt-sf

Carpelimus fuliginosus 1 - st

Platystethus nitens 1 - oa-d

Anotylus complanatus 1 - rt-sf

Anotylus rugosus 1 - rt

Stenus sp. 1 - u

Leptacinus sp. 1 - rt-st

Neobisnius sp. 1 - u

Philonthus sp. 1 - u

Falagria caesa or sulcatula 1 - rt-sf

Aleoch arinae sp . A 1 - u

Aleoch arinae sp . B 1 - u

Aleoch arinae sp . C 1 - u

Aleoch arinae sp . D 1 - u

Pselaphidae sp. 1 - u

Aphodius sp. 1 - ob-rf

Ptinus sp. 1 - rd-sf

Meligethes sp. 1 - oa-p

Monoto ma longicollis 1 - rt-st

Monotoma sp. 1 - rt-sf

Cryptophagus sp. 1 - rd-sf

Mycetaea hirta 1 - rd-ss

Corticaria sp. 1 - rt-sf

Aglenus brunneus 1 - rt-ss

Tenebrio obscurus 1 - rt-ss

Anthicus floralis or formicarius 1 - rt-st

Chrysomelinae sp. 1 - oa-p

*Diptera sp. (puparium) 100 e u

*Diptera sp. (adult) 15 m u

*Diptera sp. (pup a) 15 m u

*Acarina sp. 15 m u

*Coleop tera sp. (larva) 6 s u

*Proctotrupoidea sp. 6 s u

*Hymenoptera sp. 3 - u

*Cladocera sp. S (ephippium) 2 - oa-w

*Coccoidea sp. 2 - u

*Aranae sp. 2 - u

*Oligochaeta sp. (egg capsule) 1 - u

*Cladocera sp. (ephippium) 1 - oa-w

*Cladocera sp. F (ephippium) 1 - oa-w

*?Pediculus humanus 1 - ss

*Melophagus ovinus (puparium) 1 - u

*Syrphidae sp. (larva) 1 - u

*?Pulex irritans 1 - ss

*?Spalangia sp. 1 - u

*Apis mellifera 1 - u

*Chalcidoidea sp. 1 - u

Context: 1024 Sample: 2/T1 ReM: S

Weight: 2.00 E: 1.50 F: 2.00

Notes: Entered 6.4.2000. One tightly-packed jar of flot

(put into two jars for storage after sorting). Identified

in flot, problems on filter paper. Paraffin remained in

the flot. Some quite remarkable preservation,

especially of larvae. E1.0-3.0, mode 1.5 (D); F1.5-4.0,

mode 2 .0 (D). Some re mains darken ed (degree 0 -2),

not ably Cercyon unipunctatus. One ?oak spangle gall.


Philonthus politus 9 - rt-st





Cryptophagus sp. 4 - rd-sf

Atomaria s p. B 4 - rd


Helophorus sp. 2 - oa-w



Phyllodrepa ?floralis 2 - rt-sf

28





Lyctus linearis 2 - l-sf

Phyllotreta nemorum group 2 - oa-p

Saldidae sp. 1 - oa-d


Delphacidae sp. 1 - oa-p

Bembidion guttula or mannerheimi 1 - oa

Amara sp. 1 - oa

Hydrobius fuscipes 1 - oa-w

Ptenidium sp. 1 - rt


?Aclypea opaca 1 - ob-rt






Stenus sp. 1 - u

Rugilus sp. 1 - rt

Gyrohypnus angustatus 1 - rt-st

Philon thus sp . A 1 - u

Philon thus sp . B 1 - u

Philon thus sp . C 1 - u

Falagria sp. 1 - rt-sf

Aleochara sp. 1 - u


Trox scaber 1 - rt-sf

Geotrupes sp. 1 - oa-rf

Aphodius granarius 1 - ob-rf

Aphodius sp. 1 - ob-rf

?Scirtidae sp. 1 - oa-d

Ptilinus pectinicornis 1 - l-sf

Ptinus ?fur 1 - rd-sf


Rhizophagus sp. 1 - u

Atomaria s p. A 1 - rd

Cortic aria sp. A 1 - rt-sf

Cortic aria sp. B 1 - rt-sf

Corticarina or Cortinicara sp. 1 - rt

Typhaea stercorea 1 - rd-ss

Blaps sp. 1 - rt-ss

?Abdera quadrifasciata 1 - u

Bruchus ?rufimanus 1 - st

Chaetocnema arida group 1 - oa-p

Psylliodes sp. 1 - oa-p

Apion sp. 1 - oa-p

Ceutorhynchus contractus 1 - oa-p

Rhinoncus sp. 1 - oa-p


*Diptera sp. (adult) 100 e u

*Coleop tera sp. (larva) 100 e u

*Acarina sp. 100 e u

*Aves sp. (feather) 100 e u

*Mammalia sp . (hair) 100 e u

*Oligochaeta sp. (egg capsule) 6 s u

*Coccoidea sp. 3 - u


*Cladocera sp. L (ephippium) 2 - oa-w

*Melophagus o vinus (adult) 2 - u


*Hymenoptera Parasitica sp. 2 - u

*Proctotrupoidea sp. 2 - u

*Aranae sp. 2 - u


*Pulex irritans 1 - ss




Context: 1031 Sample: 8/T1 ReM: R

Weight: 2.00 E: 2.00 F: 2.50

Notes: Entered 7.4.200 0. Flot 1 cm in jar. Record ed in

flot, problems on filter paper. Rapid scan since part of

flot had been lost by SB. Som e remarkable

preservation, e.g. of the body sclerites of bees.

E1.0-3 .5, mod e 2.0 (W ); F2.0-4.0 , mode 2.5 (W ).



Philonthus politus 6 - rt-st









Atomaria sp. 3 - rd



Tachyporus sp. 2 - u

Delphacidae sp. 1 - oa-p

Bembidion sp. 1 - oa

Pterostichus sp. 1 - ob



Cryptopleurum minutum 1 - rf-st

Histerinae sp. 1 - rt

Megarthrus sp. 1 - rt



Stenus sp. 1 - u

Leptacinus sp. 1 - rt-st

Gyrohypnus fracticornis 1 - rt-st




29

Quedius sp. 1 - u

Cypha sp. 1 - rt

Falagria sp. 1 - rt-sf




Aphodius granarius 1 - ob-rf

Apho dius sp . A 1 - ob-rf

Apho dius sp . B 1 - ob-rf

Clambus sp. 1 - rt-sf

Ptinus sp. 1 - rd-sf



Omosita discoidea 1 - rt-sf

Cryptophagus scutellatus 1 - rd-st

Cryptop hagus sp . A 1 - rd-sf

Cryptop hagus sp . B 1 - rd-sf

Enicmus sp. 1 - rt-sf

Corticaria sp. 1 - rt-sf


Tenebrio obscurus 1 - rt-ss

Anthicus floralis or formicarius 1 - rt-st

Cerambycidae sp. 1 - l


Chaetocnema concinna 1 - oa-p

Sitona sp. 1 - oa-p

Hypera punctata 1 - oa-p


Ceuthorhynchinae sp. 1 - oa-p

Curculionidae sp. 1 - oa


*Acarina sp. 50 e u


*Coleop tera sp. (larva) 15 m u

*?Spalangia sp. 6 s u

*Proctotrupoidea sp. 6 s u

*Aves sp. (feather) 6 s u




*Diptera sp. (larva) 2 - u



*Pediculus humanus 1 - ss

*Pediculus humanus (nymph) 1 - ss

*Auchenorhyncha sp. (nymph) 1 - oa-p

*Aph ido idea sp. (p arasit ised mum my) 1 - u

Context: 1043 Sample: 4/T1 ReM: S

Weight: 2.00 E: 1.50 F: 2.00

Notes: Entered 6.4.2000. >120 ml of flot, with bran,

moss, wood and other coarse plant detritus, and

abundant insect immatures. Superb preservation.

Paraffin left in. Re-sieved to 2 mm, giving about 70 ml

of < 2mm fraction. E1.0-3.0, mode 1.5 (D); F1.0-4.5,

mode 2 (D). Recorde d in flot and o n filter paper.

Some Bruchus elytra pale. Apis ‘pollen basket’

decayed.


Atomaria s p. C 8 - rd

Bruchus rufimanus 8 - st




Carpelimus bilineatus 4 - rt-sf

Philonthus ?politus 4 - rt-st

Atomaria s p. D 4 - rd

Anthicus formicarius 4 - rt-st


Clambus pubescens 3 - rt-sf

Atomaria s p. B 3 - rd


Cercyon atricapillus 2 - rf-st



Ochthebius minimus 2 - oa-w




Stenu s sp. A 2 - u

Leptacinus ?pusillus 2 - rt-st


Falagria or Cordalia sp. 2 - rt-sf


Aleoch arinae sp . E 2 - u

Aleoch arinae sp . F 2 - u


Monotoma sp. 2 - rt-sf

Cryptophagus scutellatus 2 - rd-st

Cryptop hagus sp . A 2 - rd-sf

Cryptop hagus sp . B 2 - rd-sf

Enicmus sp. 2 - rt-sf


Heterogaster u rticae 1 - oa-p

Empicoris ?culiciformis 1 - rt

Lyctocoris campestris 1 - rd-st

Xylocoris sp. 1 - u


Bembidion biguttatum 1 - oa-d

Bembidio n ?guttula 1 - oa

Pterostichus ?melanarius 1 - ob

Pterostichus (Poecilus) sp. 1 - oa

Carabidae sp. 1 - ob

Agabus bipustulatus 1 - oa-w


Cryptopleurum minutum 1 - rf-st

Hydrobius fuscipes 1 - oa-w

?Acritus nigricornis 1 - rt-st

Histerinae sp. 1 - rt

30

Phyllodrepa ?floralis 1 - rt-sf

Dropephylla sp. 1 - u

Acrolocha sulcula 1 - rt

Omalium sp. 1 - rt

Xylodromus sp. 1 - rt-st

Carpelimus fuliginosus 1 - st

Carpelimus ?rivularis 1 - ob-d

Carpelimus sp. 1 - u

Platystethus degener 1 - oa-d


Stenu s sp. B 1 - u

Lithocharis ochracea 1 - rt-st

Leptacinus ?intermedius 1 - rt-st

Phacophallus parumpunctatus 1 - rt-st

Gyrohypnus angustatus 1 - rt-st

Philonthus discoideus 1 - rt-st




Staphylininae sp. 1 - u

Tachyporus sp. 1 - u

Aleochara sp. 1 - u




Trox scaber 1 - rt-sf

Aphodius ?depressus 1 - rf

Apho dius sp . A 1 - ob-rf

Apho dius sp . B 1 - ob-rf

?Cyphon sp. 1 - oa-d

Ptinus fur 1 - rd-sf


Malachius sp. 1 - u


Omosita colon 1 - rt-sf

Monoto ma longicollis 1 - rt-st

Atomaria s p. A 1 - rd

Ephistemus globulus 1 - rd-sf

Orthoperus sp. 1 - rt

Stephostethu s angusticollis 1 - rt-st

Dienerella sp. 1 - rd-sf

Cortic aria sp. A 1 - rt-sf

Cortic aria sp. B 1 - rt-sf

Tenebrio ?obscurus 1 - rt-ss

?Phymatodes alni 1 - l


Chaetocnema concinna 1 - oa-p

Halticinae sp. 1 - oa-p


*Acarina sp. 100 e u

*Cladocera sp. S (ephippium) 50 e oa-w


*Bryophyta sp. 15 m u

*Cladocera sp. F (ephippium) 15 m oa-w


*Diptera sp. (pup a) 15 m u

*Syrphidae sp. (larva) 15 m u

*Coleop tera sp. (larva) 15 m u

*Proctotrupoidea sp. 15 m u

*Aves sp. (feather) 15 m u

*Agrostemma githago (seed) 6 s u

*Coccoidea sp. 6 s u

*Reticulate tubes 6 s u

*Aranae sp. 3 - u

*Damalinia ovis 2 - u

*Pediculus humanus 2 - ss


*Isopoda sp. 1 - u


*Cladocera sp. L (ephippium) 1 - oa-w

*Forficula sp. 1 - u

*Heteroptera sp. (nymph) 1 - u



*Pulex irritans 1 - ss

*?Apis mellifera 1 - u



31

Table 8. Assemblages of adult Coleoptera and Hemiptera (excluding Aphidoidea andCoccidoidea) from 4-7 Parliament Street, York: Numbers of taxa (s) and individuals (n) placedin core Groups A-E of Carrott and Kenward (2000), by sample and for whole site.

Core G roup Whole site 1005 1024 1031 1043

n % n % n % n % n %

A 126 26 23 30 35 30 20 19 48 27

B 47 10 12 16 6 5 7 6 22 12

C 47 10 12 16 6 5 12 11 17 10

D 21 4 3 4 11 9 4 4 3 2

E 20 4 3 4 4 3 2 2 11 6

N 480 77 118 108 177

32

Table 9. Abbreviations for ecological codes and statistics used for interpretation of insectremains in text and tables. Lower case codes in parentheses are those assigned to taxa and usedto calculate the group values (the codes in capitals). See Table 2 for codes assigned to taxa from4-7 Parliament Street, York. Alpha - the index of diversity alpha (Fisher et al. 1943); indivs -individuals (based on MNI); No - number.

No taxa S Estimated number of indivs (MNI) NIndex of diversity (") alpha Standard error of alpha SE alpha No ‘certain’ outdoor taxa (oa) SOA Percentage of ‘certain’ outdoor taxa PSOA No ‘certain’ outdoor indivs NOA Percentage of ‘certain’ outdoor indivs PNOA No OA and probable outdoor taxa (oa+ob) SOBPercentage of OB taxa PSOB No OB indivs NOB Percentage OB indivs PNOB Index of diversity of the OB component alphaOBStandard error SEalphaOBNo aquatic taxa (w) SW Percentage of aquatic taxa PSW No aquatic indivs NW Percentage of W indivs PNW Index of diversity of the W component alphaWStandard error SEalphaWNo damp ground/waterside taxa (d) SD Percentage D taxa PSD No damp D indivs ND Percentage of D indivs PNDIndex of diversity of the D component alphaDStandard error SEalphaDNo strongly plant-associated taxa (p) SP Percentage of P taxa PSP No strongly P indivs NP Percentage of P indivs PNP Index of diversity of the P component alphaPStandard error SEalphaPNo heathland/moorland taxa (m) SM Percentage of M taxa PSMNo M indivs NM Percentage of M indivs PNM Index of diversity of the M component alphaMStandard error SEalphaMNo wood-associated taxa (l) SL Percentage of L taxa PSLNo L indivs NL Percentage of L indivs PNL Index of diversity of the L component alphaLStandard error SEalphaLNo indivs of grain pests (g) NG

Percentage of indivs of grain pests PNG No decomposer taxa (rt + rd + rf) SRT Percentage of RT taxa PSRT No RT indivs NRT Percentage of RT indivs PNRT Index of diversity of RT component alpha RTStandard error SEalphaRTNo ‘dry’ decomposer taxa (rd) SRD Percentageof RD taxa PSRD No RD indivs NRD Percentage of RD indivs PNRD Index of diversity of the RD component alphaRDStandard error SEalphaRDNo ‘foul’ decomposer taxa (rf) SRF Percentage of RF taxa PSRF No RF indivs NRF Percentage of RF indivs PNRF Index of diversity of the RF component alphaRFStandard error SEalphaRFNo synanthropic taxa (sf+st+ss) SSAPercentage of synanthropic taxa PSSANo synanthropic indivs NSAPercentage of SA indivs PNSAIndex of diversity of SA component ALPHASAStandard error SEALPHASANo facultatively synanthropic taxa (sf) SSFPercentage of SF taxa PSSFNo SF indivs NSFPercentage of SF indivs PNSFIndex of diversity of SF component ALPHASFStandard error SEALPHASFNo typical synanthropic taxa (st) SSTPercentage of ST taxa PSSTNo ST indivs NSTPercentage of ST indivs PNSTIndex of diversity of ST component ALPHASTStandard error SEALPHASTNo strongly synanthropic taxa (ss) SSSPercentage of SS taxa PSSSNo SS indivs NSSPercentage of SS indivs PNSSIndex of diversity of SS component ALPHASSStandard error SEALPHASSNo uncoded taxa (u) SU Percentage of uncoded indivs PNU

33

Table 10. Ratios of Trichuris and Ascaris eggs from subsamples from Anglo-Scandinaviandeposits at 16-22 Coppergate, York (where both taxa were present with more than five eggs) and4-7 Parliament Street.

Key to feature typ es: EL—extern al layer; GF—g ully fill; PF—pit fill; WF—well fill.

Context No. Trichuris No. Ascaris Phase Feature type Ratio Trichuris:Ascaris

16-22 C opperga te

27203 9 17 4B EL 0.5

15456 6 10 5B PF 0.6

27203 8 12 4B EL 0.7

6570 10 10 5CR PF 1.0

27813 12 12 3 PF 1.0

16763 7 6 5CR EL 1.2

15456 13 10 5B PF 1.3

19622 19 14 5B GF 1.4

31161 46 33 4A PF 1.4

18529 14 9 4B PF 1.6

21141 57 30 5CR PF 1.9

21141 25 12 5CR PF 2.1

31161 56 24 4A PF 2.3

26012 34 14 4B PF 2.4

18529 18 7 4B PF 2.6

19626 18 6 4B GF 3.0

6903 37 12 5CR PF 3.1

34397 139 45 4B PF 3.1

15700 93 29 5B EL 3.2

6926 34 9 5CR PF 3.8

28403 31 8 3 PF 3.9

19626 30 7 4B GF 4.3

15700 102 22 5B EL 4.6

19622 52 9 5B GF 5.8

22376 41 7 5A PF 5.9

15466 92 15 5B PF 6.1

6909 86 11 5CR PF 7.8

26957 85 10 4B PF 8.5

31695 157 10 3 PF 15.7

27194 117 7 3 WF 16.7

27873 119 6 3 PF 19.8

4-7 Parliament Street

1005 15 5 3.0

1024 11 9 1.2

1031 7 2 3.5

1043 14 6 2.3

Documents

Technical Report: Plant and invertebrate remains from … Samples from four richly organic deposits with excellent preservation by anoxic waterlogging of plant and invertebrate remains